Calling Hours

Scripture Verses that Caught my attention today: Joshua 18:2-3 There remained among the Israelites seven tribes whose inheritance had not yet been apportioned. 3 So Joshua said to the Israelites, “How long will you be slack about going in and taking possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has given you?

Observation: This sounds crazy but it’s true, after all those years of being promised an inheritance, of wandering in the wilderness, of fighting battle after battle to claim the land—some of the Israelites had not yet actually claimed the very inheritance that they were to be given and for which they had hoped.

Application: It’s possible to get used to things that aren’t healthy, beneficial, or even desirable. I’m reading a book right now called “Necessary Endings.” It reminds me, in some respects, of a book by a similar title (Necessary Losses) that I read many years ago. Though written by different authors, both books embrace, essentially, forms of death in our lives. And the reason that these forms of death need to be embraced is in order that new life might occur.

Some of the Israelites had gotten so used to wandering around over the years that they didn’t realize that their time of wandering needed to die so that they could experience new life in their promised inheritance. They simply needed to claim it, to redeem the coupon that had perhaps gotten buried in their wallet over the years but was still very much at hand. They needed to admit that one season of life in their lives (which had been good, all things considered) was now over (dead) and it was time for a new season of life for them to begin.

I’m only part-way into the book, but I’m finding it offers good food for thought—especially when paired with the death and resurrection of Christ himself and all that that means for us.

Prayer: Lord, what needs to die in me in order that new life might arise? Whoa! Don’t give it to me all at once! That list is too long! Just give me a few pointers, a few tangible things for which I might want to develop some mini “calling hours” that I can work into my schedule. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

(Readings today included: Joshua 18-20 and 1 Corinthians 9)